Finding Nemo presents: Enchanted
by tohru-chan62442
Summary: It's Enchanted starring your favorite fishy friends!
1. Prologue

**Such a Long A/N, It's its own chapter!**

**So here we are! This idea's been in my head for a while. It all started when a youtuber by the screenname of musicrocksursox said in a comment on a Dorlin video I made that they reminded her a lot of Robert and Giselle. I was like "Oh yeah, they are!!!" XD And thus this fanfiction was born. It might take a while to update all the chapters (it IS a long movie) but I vow that I will finish it. I mean, I hate when people write a story on this site and then don't finish it. I'm like, "What was the point of even posting it then?" SO, even if it takes a while and there's a lot of time between chapters, know that I WILL finish this story!! Also, some of the fish in this story are the "animals" and some are "humans". You should know which ones are which, but just know that. I was gonna do shrimp as all the animals, but it was FAR too limited. I think the only case where that would cause confusion is with my Pip(I'm not gonna tell who it is! ;) ). But yeah, if you've seen the movie you won't really be confused. Finally, bold is me talking,**

_**Bold italics are narration**_

_and normal italics are singing_**(does that mean I just sang that part?)**

**Is there anything else I forgot? *think think think Winnie-the-Pooh style* Oh yeah, please R&R, I'd like to know EXACTLY how much this sucks! OH AND! I read somewhere that chapters that are only A/N's are not allowed. I don't know if this is true, but just to be safe, I'll put the beginning narration here as well. Happy reading!!**

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_**Once upon a time, in a magical kingdom known as Azulasia, there lived an evil queen. Selfish and cruel, she lived in fear that one day her stepson would marry and she would lose her throne forever. And so she did all in her power to prevent the prince from ever meeting the one special maiden with whom he would share true love's kiss…**_


	2. True Love's Kiss

**Chapter one, up to bat! **

**Disclaimer:I DON'T OWN FINDING NEMO OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT OR THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY. I DON'T OWN ENCHANTED EITHER. AND IT'S IN ALL CAPS SO YOU CAN'T MISS IT AND SUE ME. SO THERE.**

**Phew! Now that THAT'S outta the way-on with the show!! *fanfare as curtain rises***

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Dory danced around her home amid the kelp forest, dolling up the makeshift mannequin she was creating. Two blue flying fish came up to her, holding a small, banana-shaped pebble.

"Dory, Dory," they said in unison, "how's this for your statue?"

"Oh, this will be perfect!" gushed Dory, taking it from them and fixing it on the statue. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" said the two, pleased with themselves. However they were suddenly shooed away by Bloat.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, okay, move it!" He waved his fins. "We have got a face to put together, here, while it's still ingrained in her subcranium!"

"Oh, Bloat, it was such a lovely dream!" said Dory with a distant look in her eyes. "We were holding hands, and dancing…" She started to spin around again. She was quickly stopped by a small grey fish with two black stones that had a tint of red. No once noticed this small detail, however.

"And these for the eyes?" he presented the stones to Dory.

She gasped, "Black! Oh, how did you know?" She tilted them back and forth. "And they sparkle, just like his!" She set to fix them on the statue. "Okay…there we go…" She stepped back. "Yes! That's it!" She turned to Bloat.

"Alright!" said Bloat. He gathered the rest of the fish and hushed them. He turned to Dory. "Floor's yours, hon."

She cleared her throat dramatically. "Presenting: my one true love; my prince; my dream come true!" She turned the statue to show it to everyone. It wasn't very precise(Dory DID have some memory problems), All that it really had was the dorsal fin and those eyes. Still, the other fish "ooo"ed and "ahhh"ed. Suddenly, however, Dory gasped in realization. "Oh my goodness!" She searched the statue.

Bloat swam up to her. "Woah! What? What's the problem?"

She sighed. "I didn't give him any lips."

"Oh, right" said Bloat.

"Does he have to have lips?" asked a younger, green fish.

Dory laughed, "Of course!"

_When you meet the someone_

_Who was meant for you_

_Before two can become one_

_There's something you must do_

"_Do you pull each others' tails?"_ asked one fish, pulling a girl fish's tail to demonstrate. She promptly slapped him.

"_Or feed each other flakes?"_ guessed a pink fish, stuffing the fish next to her with flakes. He choked a bit.

Dory giggled.

_No_

_There is something sweeter_

_that every true love takes_

_I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss_

_And a prince I'm hoping comes with this_

_That's what brings ever-aftering_

_So happy!_

_And that's the reason we need lips so much_

_For lips are the only things that touch_

_So to spend a life of endless bliss_

_Just find who you love through true love's kiss_

She studied her statue intently. "If we're going to find the perfect pair of lips, we're going to need a lot more help." She swam to the top of the kelp forest and sang her fish-animal call.

_aaaAAAaaaAAAah_

_aaaAAAaaaAAAah_

_aaaAAAaaaAAAAAAAH_

The rest of the fish-animals in the forest heard and answered,

_aaaAAAaaaAAAah_

_aaaAAAaaaAAAah_

_aaaAAAaaaAAAAAAAH_

They flooded into her makeshift house.

_She's been dreaming of a true love's kiss_

_And a prince she's hoping comes with this_

They started a line of passing potential "lips" to Dory for approval.

_That's what brings ever-aftering so happy_

Dory tried a piece of coral, a small frond, even a tiny crab, but to no avail. But when she was handed something soft, squishy, and pink, she was delighted and stuck it on.

_And that's the reason we need lips so much_

_For lips are the only things that touch_

However, the pink squishy thing turned out to be a very offended sponge, whom Dory put back in the ground after apologizing to it. She then walked back to her statue and sighed.

_So to spend a life of endless bliss_

The other fish began to sing with her as they brought some strung-together water-lilies in the shape of a heart.

_Just find who you love through true love's kiss_

The fish-animals draped the heart over Dory and the statue. She sighed and wondered how long it would be before she'd see her prince again.

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At that same time, Prince Gurgle was riding on his trusty seahorse, chasing down a frogfish. He eventually tied it up in some strong algae.

"Look out below!" he shouted as the frogfish fell over with Gurgle on its back. When it fell, the Prince laughed a victorious, confident laugh.

"Amazing, Sire! Your tenth frogfish this month!" exclaimed Bubbles. "Oh I loooooove hunting frogfish!!" Bubbles tried to climb up the frogfish via its face, to no avail. "Big frogfish, little frogfish-frogfish, frogfish, frogfi-IIIIIISH!" Bubbles nearly lost his balance on the last syllable, but managed to catch himself-

And stick his fin right in the frogfish's nose.

"Sorry," he said to the frogfish as he wiped his fin.

"Oh, that's okay," said the frogfish kindly.

Gurgle pulled Bubbles up onto the frogfish's back.

"Oh, frogfish are fine to pass the time, Bubbles, but…" Gurgle looked somewhere in the distance. "But my heart longs to be joined in song!" He stood up and, of course, began to sing, dragging Nathaniel around in a circle as he did so.

_I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss_

_And a-_

_Prince I'm hoping comes with this_

Gurgle stopped. He hadn't sung that. That sounded like a woman.

"Do-do you hear that, Bubbles?"

"Me?" Bubbles gulped inwardly "No!!" Bubbles panicked. "I hear nothing, nothing at all, Your Highness!" He laughed nervously. He tried to sing over the girl to make it look like that was his voice.

But Gurgle was having none of it. "I must find the maiden that belongs to that sweet voice!" He rushed to get on his seahorse, despite Bubbles' frantic protests. "Ride, Destiny!" The sea horse galloped off before Bubbles could catch it.

He started to panic. "Oh no! No! No, this isn't good! All these years of frogfish chasing, trying to keep him from ever meeting a girl-Ah! The Queen!" He opened up a small compact where he kept the Queen's picture. "Oh, she's not going to like this."

Suddenly the frogfish started singing along in a very bass voice.

_True love's kiss_

Suddenly, an idea popped into Bubbles' head…

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Gurgle sang as he galloped towards the angelic voice.

_aaaaah AAAAAAAh aaah AAAH aaah aaah_

_True love's kiss_

Suddenly, he heard loud pounding behind him and the ground shaking beneath him. He turned to find the frogfish stepping over him and running in the direction as well.

_True love's kiss_

Gurgle laughed. "You shall not prevail, foul frogfish! That maiden is mine!"

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Dory sighed as she sat on a sponge and looked out at the forest.

"Hon?" said Bloat. "Do ya really think this dream boy exists?"

"Oh, Bloat," Dory sighed, turning back to the statue. "I know he's out there somewhere."

As she continued to stare at her prince dreamily, she failed to notice the huge eye at the window. All the other fish-animals did, and tried to tell her.

"I-I-I-I-I…" they all stuttered.

"I-I what?" she asked confused.

"I eat you now!" yelled the frogfish.

Dory screamed and the fish-animals scattered as two hands reached in through the windows.

"Gotcha!" said the frogfish, feeling victorious, until he saw Dory swimming through another window. The frogfish had grabbed the statue. He crushed it with his fist.

"Hey! That's cheating!" He said as she swam out of his grasp. (A/N For those of you who don't know, frogfish don't swim, but actually walk or occasionally jet propel themselves forward. They cannot swim up like other fish, so that's what I mean by out of his grasp.*little rainbow w/ "The More You Know" written on it* Ok back to the story) "I supposed to eat you now!!"

"Oh no you don't, ya big lug!" said Bloat. He blew up in the frogfish's face and one of his spines poked him in the eye.

"Owie!!" the frogfish yelled, and he batted Bloat away.

"Woooah!!" said Bloat as he drifted away.

Dory swam up more but ran into rock. She was trapped in a cave-like dead end. She turned and saw the frogfish's ugly face, grinning and smacking its lips.

Suddenly, there was a voice, somewhat in the distance.

"Fear not, fair maiden, I am here!"

The frogfish turned to see where the voice came from, and Dory took this opportunity to swim through the frogfish's legs and up onto a high rock formation.

The frogfish yelled and screamed, obviously angry, but he couldn't reach her.

She turned to see a handsome royal gramma, looking more royal than usual, on a beautiful seahorse.

"Ah, maiden! Thank goodness you're all right!"

Suddenly, she knew. This was her prince. It had to be.

"Oh my gosh," she softly exclaimed. "It's you."

"Uh, yes, it's me," said Gurgle, confused but entranced by the maiden's beauty. "And you are?"

"Dory," she smiled up at him.

"Oh, Dory!!" said Gurgle, as if her name was the greatest thing he'd ever heard in his life. He swiftly lifted her up onto his seahorse. "We shall be married in the morning!"

No prizes for what they did next:

"_You're the fairest maid I've ever met_

_You were made-"_

"_To finish your duet," _finished Dory. They sang together:

"_And in years to come we'll reminisce"_

All the fish-animals followed them as they rode toward the castle.

G: _How we came to love_

D: _And grew and grew love_

Both: _Since first we knew love through True Love's Kiss!_

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Meanwhile, Queen Cassandra saw the couple in her magic bubble.

"So this is the little kelp forest rat who thinks she can steal my throne," she said fairly nonchalantly. But suddenly her face turned venomous, and a pillar of water sprung up around her.

"NEVER!!!!!!"

And her shadow against the water almost looked like a serpent…

**Whew! By the way I'm only calling her Cassandra because I don't wanna get sued. She's really the same basic character. AAAANYwhoodle, please review and tell me watcha think! And don't n think I'm giving up on Finding Jessie-I'm writing both at the same time! (No wonder my grades are mostly C's…)**


	3. The Wishing Well

***looks at date of last update and hangs head in shame* I'm so sorry guys! I mean, yes, I did warn you that there might be a long time between updates, but that's no excuse. There are two main reasons it took this long to update:**

**a. I was in a musical for a while, and that took up 95% of my time.**

**b. Over the Rainbow. *puts on E's glasses and cigarette holder* That project completely consumed my life, dahling. *gives glasses and cigarette sheepishly back to a very perturbed E* But the first draft's done, so I can stop writing it so feverishly.**

**God, I finally give you guys a chapter, and it's filler! *Ritsu-style* I APOLOGIZE TO THE WOOOOOOOOORLD!!!!!! **

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, don't own anything.**

**Well, try to enjoy it? Heh heh… ^^:**

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**The next day was beautiful. The sun was cascading through the water, the flying fish were singing, and everything seemed to be smiling.

A perfect day for a wedding.

The bride's seahorse-drawn carriage pulled up to the castle, and Bubbles darted towards it. When he got there, he fixed his hat and put on his best dignified face. He reached for the door handle-

**WHAM! **

"Oof!!" Bubbles rubbed his nose where the carriage door had slammed into it.

"Oh, excuse me, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!" Dory apologized. She looked stunning in her white wedding dress, even though the skirt was twice her size.

"No, no, that's all right," Bubbles insisted, still rubbing his nose in pain.

Dory looked up at the castle, a worried look suddenly coming across her face. "Am I late? I do hope I'm not late..." She began to wring her fins.

"No, no! Just in time!" Bubbles smiled a fake, slightly evil smile that Dory didn't see.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Her excited smile returned and she started to swim up the stairs.

Bubbles was just about to close the carriage door when Bloat popped his head out.

"Hey, hon, wait up! We ain't done with ya yet!"

'We?' But Bubbles didn't have long to wonder.

All of Dory's animal friends rushed out of the carriage, trampling Bubbles. They were armed with various sewing supplies and accessories.

Two grey fish quickly tied a white, sparkly ribbon around Dory's waist in a neat bow as she went up the stairs. Another green fish placed a beautiful tiara on her head.

"Thank you!" Dory called to them as she rushed inside.

"You're welcome, Dory," They smiled.

Her friends made to follow her through the door, but Bubbles had caught up by now. He quickly went inside after Dory, stuck his tongue out childishly at all of them, and slammed the door right as Bloat dashed for it, causing Bloat to slam into it hard.

"Hey, whadda we look like, garbage?!" Bloat yelled at the door after he recovered. He went to find another way in, muttering, "Close the door on _me_..."

Dory was rushing as fast as her dress allowed through the garden to the chapel.

"To think that in a few moments, Gurgle and I...that he and me...that _we_...!" She laughed and sighed, loving how it all sounded.

Bubbles, meanwhile, was trying to get her to stop with no success.

What did stop Dory was an old hagfish who suddenly appeared in her way.

"Oh my," Dory gasped.

"Aaah, what a lovely bride," The hagfish gushed as she oozed (literally) closer to Dory.

"Oh, that's very kind of you," Dory smiled as she started swimming forward again. "but I really-"

The hag fish blocked her way. "Granny has a wedding gift for you." She smiled a repulsive smile.

"Well, thank you, but I really should be going." Dory finally made her way around the woman. "You see, I have to-"

Quick as a wink, the hagfish looped her tail around Dory's fin tightly and started dragging her into the center of the garden.

"'Tis a wishing well, my dear," She explained.

"Oh, but all my wishes are about to come true," Dory tried to explain.

Meanwhile, Bloat had found a way inside the castle through some kelp trees and was now swimming above the garden.

"Ooo, if I ever see that stupid tang's yellow face again, I'm gonna-" His muttering was cut short when he heard Dory's voice.

"I really do have to go," She was insisting.

Bloat swam down closer and ducked behind some tall red coral in the garden. Something wasn't right-Bloat could feel it.

"But a wish made on your wedding day! That's the most magical of all," The hagfish nodded ahead of them.

Dory's eyes met a structure attatched to the garden wall. At the top was an opening where pure light,of all different colors, was pouring down into a large well. It was so odd and beautiful. Dory couldn't take her eyes off of it.

They had reached the edge of it by now.

"Just close your eyes, my darling, and make a wish," The hagfish said.

Dory looked down the well. She couldn't even see the bottom-it seemed to just go on forever.

"That's right, lean in close," The hagfish said eagerly.

'It couldn't hurt to make a wish, I suppose,' Dory thought.

"Are you wishing for something?" The hagfish asked.

"Yes, I am," Dory nodded. She smiled and closed her eyes as she whispered. "And they both lived happily ever aft-"

Suddenly, Dory felt herself falling. 'How is that possible? We're underwater!' Dory thought as she screamed.

But the well seemed to be sucking her in like a vacuum. She tried swimming against the current, but to no avail-it was too strong.

"Gurgle!!" She yelled before losing sight of the castle completely.

* * *

Bloat gasped as soon as Dory fell in and dashed off to find Prince Gurgle.

He missed the hagfish laughing maniacally.

"Speciosus, formosus, praeclarus!" She chanted, and in a burst of nature-defying green flames, the old hagfish transformed into the beautifully wicked Queen Cassandra.

Bubbles swam up beside the black betta fish and looked as far as he dared into the well.

"My dearest Queen, where did you send her?" Bubbles asked.

An evil smile curled onto the Queen's face.

"To a place where there are no 'happily-ever-after's."

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**So there you have it! I promise updates won't take that long anymore. The next two chapters are basically written, they just need some tweaking and perfecting; I'll probably put them up fairly soon. Anyway, throw tomatoes at me for taking so long in reviews! :D**


	4. A Strange New World

**Hey, I'm back. End of the year sucks hard. Updates will FOR REAL be better after about two weeks or so, when it's finally SUMMER! :D**

**Anyway, I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but the hagfish is a real fish. I figured I'd just call the old hag an old hagfish, but being the curious little monkey I am, I decided to Google it, and there it was. They're all slimy and super gross, which of course is perfect for the part.**

**I can't believe I've gone four chapters without doing reviewer responses! GAH! __**

**tsfanficsftw: Yeah, Giselle's character is kind of a combo of Snow White, Aurora, and Ariel. Play with your hair no longer, dear reader!**

**Registered2Comment: First off, that's why I first registered too. XD But moving on…I totally got the frogfish idea from Spongebob. And yeah. it was kinda obvious when I put that in the description, huh? ^_^; I took that off. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Persephone's Melody: Yeah, it's almost eerie, isn't it? Thanks! And yesh, yesh it is. My friends say I'm like her, too, but I disagree. I think I have more in common with Machi, to be honest. Although I do space out a lot. :)**

**SSBB1fangirl: I'm glad you love it, and I will most certainly continue it!**

**L100Meganium: Well…..you'll just have to find out, won't you? ;) Yeah, I was thinking about making Darla Narissa, but it just didn't fit for me. For one, she's a human-how would she interact with all the fish. For another, she's not **_**really**_** evil-she's just kinda dumb. XD And finally, Bubbles having a crush on her would be…….yeah. O_____O It's true, they never do! It makes me so sad, cause I really get into one, and then it just stops. I promise I won't do that. Cross my heart. Like in ****Up****.**

**LittleBlue333: I'm glad you like it so far! ^_^**

**Stuff happens! Read it! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

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**Dory fell and fell. She couldn't even see the walls of the well anymore-it looked like she was falling through a rainbowed galaxy.

She would have admired the view, had she not been screaming her head off.

One of the 'stars' suddenly came shooting towards her, and she reflexively threw her fins in front of her face and snapped her eyes tightly shut.

When she didn't feel any impact, she opened one of her eyes and started to move her fins away from herself.

She did a double take as she saw the star had stuck to her fin. She tried to shake it and pull it off.

Another star hit her other fin, and Dory jumped. That's when she noticed stars were coming at her from all directions, sticking to her face and practically everywhere else.

She screamed all over again as the stars made everything so bright that she couldn't see anything anymore. She kept falling into the blindingly bright abyss.

All of a sudden, it turned dark again, and Dory slammed down against something hard.

"Ouch," She muttered, rubbing her nose where it hurt.

It was too dark to see where she was, but the space she was in was very small, almost to the point of claustrophobia. She swam up, looking for a way out, and bumped her nose against what felt like a rock.

'A way out!' Dory cheered in her head. She quickly pushed against the rock with some difficulty moved it aside, and swam out.

Dory stopped dead in her tracks.

What she had swam out of was a tube sponge that opened right at the ground level of a gigantic coral reef.

Specifically, the Great Barrier Reef.

It looked very much like a human city, with the only exception being that all the buildings were made of coral. However, this was not the bright and colorful coral of Azulasia. While there were different colors, they appeared to be somewhat washed out and dull.

Nevertheless, Dory found it amazing. She couldn't even grasp the wonder of it; partly because it was nighttime and partly because-well, it was just so different!

Fish were swimming all around her-some carrying briefcases, some talking on shell phones, all trying to get where they were going as quickly as possible.

"Oh, my..." Dory whispered.

At that moment, the fish that had been acting as the stop sign moved to the other intersection.

A big yellow manta ray carrying at least 10 fish came right at Dory, but stopped right before it hit her.

"Oh!" Dory screamed and ran out of its way.

"Hey lady, get outta the street!" The ray yelled, the fish on his back agreeing loudly.

Before she could apologize, a swarm of fish started dashing across the street, pushing Dory along with them.

"Um, excuse me!" Dory asked as she was being shoved along. "I was hoping one of you kind people could direct me to the castle?"

But no one answered or even acknowledged that she had spoken. They merely spit out frustrations at her.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Walk, lady!"

"What are you doing? Move it!"

Suddenly, Dory felt something under her giant skirt.

"Oh!" She jumped.

A particularly small fish fought its way out from under her skirt.

"Watch where you're going, would ya?" He glared at her.

But Dory smiled in excited relief. "Grumpy!" She cried. Finally, a familiar face!

The fish just stared at her. "Geez, lady, are you for real?" He asked as he swam away.

"Well, I-I think so..." Dory said, confused.

But Dory was being shoved again, and didn't have time to wonder what Grumpy meant.

"Oh, please!" She tried to talk to the people. "I'm trying to get home! You see, I'm supposed to be at the ball, where I am to wed my true love, Prince Gurgle-!"

But no one was listening.

She couldn't fight her way out of the crowd, and now she was getting scared.

"Gurgle!" She cried as the crowd pushed her.

Suddenly, the whole crowd turned a corner, and Dory darted away from them.

She took a moment to catch her breath, then looked up at the street she was now on.

It was eerily quiet and practically deserted.

"Gurgle?" She called.

No answer.

Was she even in Azulasia anymore?

"Oh, dear..." Dory breathed.

It was then that Dory spotted an old, bubble-eye goldfish leaning on one of the coral buildings.

Dory brightened. Surely he would help her.

"Old man!" She called brightly, dashing over to him.

When she reached him, she smiled. "May I sit with you?"

She took his confused stare as a yes, and plopped down beside him.

"I'm very tired," She explained. "and I'm scared. I've never been this far away from home before, and I'm not sure at all where I am."

She turned to the old man now. "If somebody could show me just a bit of kindness-a friendly 'hello', or even a smile, I'm sure that would lift my spirits."

The old bubble-eye fish smiled wide, showing his jagged, rotting teeth.

Dory was shocked, but tried to stay polite. "Oh, you have a...lovely...smile," She nodded awkwardly.

Suddenly, the old man grabbed her tiara and swam off as fast as he could, which wasn't terribly fast.

"Oh!" Dory was utterly shocked for a moment, but soon hurried after him. "Where are you going? That's mine!"

Her dress didn't allow her to swim as fast as she would like, and the old man was getting away.

"I need that! Please?"

But the man was too far away now.

"You," Dory yelled. "are **not** a very nice old man!"

She felt like crying, right then and there, and would have, too.

But as she turned, she spotted-she couldn't believe it-

The castle.

She gasped, then smiled. Finally, she could go home.

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***puts on Walter Cronkite fake moustache and voice* And that's the way it was.**

**Next chapter we FINALLY get some Marlin in here. Get excited, and review if you wish!**


	5. Lives Collide

**Finally, summer! I can update somewhat regularly! *cheerleader jump* **

**Yeah, this chapter took a while anyway. See, it is imperative that Dory FALL, right? Problem is, we're underwater. No gravity. No gravity = no way to fall.**

**This was one of those moments where I looked at myself in the mirror and say, "You poor wretch. What have you gotten yourself into?"**

**But I persevered, I did! And the way it happens here is fairly plausible. At least, I think so. If you don't…well, go cry about it, cause it took me FOREVER to figure out.**

**One other thing-fish have shoulders. It's the only liberty I take with fish anatomy. Not actual shoulders, like, jutting out from their sides, but you know how it would look if someone grabbed someone else by the shoulders, and you know how it would look if a Pixar fish did that. I'll say "shoulders" but you know what I really mean, hopefully.**

**Anyway, reviewer response time!**

**Registered2Comment: Yeah, all I know is gleaned from mainstream media. God Bless America. She does have a lot of most early Disney princesses in her. I mostly see Snow White and Aurora, but maybe that's because she's always talking to animals? ….Yeah, can't say I share your feelings on hagfish, but hey, I can't judge-I find pythons downright adorable. Like, on the scale of puppies. Eee, I want one! X3**

**Eh hem….anyway. I will attempt to keep up what you perceive as "good work" but what I perceive as "random rambling of a very bored individual".**

**LittleBlue33: Yes, I am also quite excited to finally get some Marlin up in here. I looked it up totally randomly, though-it's not like I'm an ichthyologist (thank you Mr. Ray on Finding Nemo DVD Bonus Features for teaching me that word). I don't think I'd enjoy holding one-I have slime issues. It might be cool, though. *shrug* YESH IT IS GREAT TO BE OUT OF SCHOOL. I dislike school-it interferes with important things. Like sleeping. And doing nothing. Honestly, the nerve of school.**

**FINALLY, I get to write Marlin. He's so much fun to write, because I get to torture him. :)**

**Enjoy, and I don't own anything!**

**

* * *

**"No way you're getting him, Ethan!"

"You only want him because I want him!"

Marlin sighed and rubbed his temples with his fins. Another typical, headache-inducing day at the office.

Marlin worked as a divorce lawyer. He was currently sitting and listening to his new clients; Phoebe, a green parrotfish, and Ethan, a red goldfish. They had been fighting and arguing nonstop since they'd stepped into the room.

"I'm not letting you have him!" Phoebe yelled.

"Forget it! Hank is coming with me!" Ethan yelled right back.

"Hold on, wait a minute," Marlin held his fins up. "I'm getting confused-who's Hank?"

He didn't recall the two mentioning they had a son.

"Hank Aaron," Ethan clarified. "Pacific Braves? His 1954 rookie card."

Marlin stared in shock.

"A baseball card." He finally said, before doing a face-fin. "That's what this gets down to-a baseball card?"

The two nodded.

"You never loved Hank like me," Ethan addressed Phoebe.

"You never loved me like Hank!" Phoebe retorted.

"How did I make you so angry?" Ethan asked defensively.

At that moment, Peach stuck her head in the doorway. "Marlin?"

"Yes?" He whipped his head around.

"It's time."

'Thank God,' Marlin said inwardly. shutting his briefcase and getting up.

The couple were still fighting as if there had been no interruption.

"Ask what you didn't do-it's a longer list!" Phoebe crossed her fins angrily.

"Well, I have to go pick up my son. I'll see you two at 9 tomorrow?"

But Marlin may as well have been talking to a wall.

"How about what you've never done for me?" Ethan yelled back.

Marlin quickly got out of there and shut the door, sighing in relief.

"After a whole day of that, you still want to get engaged?" Peach asked doubtfully.

Marlin rolled his eyes. "Those people got married on a crazy romantic whim. It's not like that with Deb and I."

"Right. None of that 'crazy romantic' stuff for you, huh?" She crossed her arms, a sarcastic smile on her face.

"I mean," Marlin clarified. "we're rational. We understand each others' strengths and weaknesses."

"Sounds like you're building a bridge," Peach chuckled. "You tell your son yet?"

"Not yet," Marlin admitted. "But I'm going to. Tonight." He indicated the bag he was carrying next to his briefcase. "I got a present to ease him into it."

"With news like this, I hope you got him a racecar," Peach scoffed.

"No," Marlin smiled as he left. "Something better."

* * *

"A book?" Nemo raised an eyebrow at his dad.

"Yeah!" Marlin smiled. He thought it was a great gift. " 'Strong Women of the Sea'!"

When Nemo's face didn't change, Marlin gave. "Nemo, I know it's not the fairy tale book you wanted-"

"Adventure, Dad!" Nemo corrected him, embarrassed. "Adventures with knights and dragons, not girly fairy tales!"

"Right," Marlin nodded. "But this is better! Look, look-" He flipped a few pages till he found a good one.

"Jacqueline Curie," He pointed to a picture of a seahorse with a beret. She was holding a test tube in her tail. He read the page. "Remarkable woman who dedicated her life to research!" He paused as he continued to read. "Until she...died from…radiation poisoning..." He trailed off.

"She DIED?" Nemo turned to his dad skeptically.

Marlin decided to quickly change the subject. "Y'know, Deb's a lot like the women in that book."

He turned to look Nemo dead in the eye. "Nemo, son..." Marlin took a deep breath. "I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Nemo was floored by this news. "What?" He asked, not exactly in a happy way.

"Yeah, you like her, don't you?" Marlin asked, not quite expecting that reaction.

"Where's she gonna live?" Nemo still hadn't quite grasped this.

"She's going to live with us, of course," Marlin chuckled a little.

"Do I have to give up my bedroom?" Nemo asked worriedly.

"No, of course you don't have to give up your bedroom! Come on, Nemo, it's gonna be great, I promise," Marlin smiled.

"She's gonna be my stepmother," Nemo sulked, remembering all those stories he'd read about evil stepmothers.

"A nice stepmother," Marlin clarified, knowing what Nemo was thinking. "And tomorrow she's going to take you to school, just you and her, for some grown-up bonding time."

"I'm only six," Nemo said quizzically.

Marlin looked at Nemo for a moment. "You won't always be," He said quietly.

* * *

Dory swam up to the castle with some difficulty-a strong current was beginning in warning of the coming storm.

She knocked on the cardboard.

"Hello?" She called. "Is anyone in there? It's me, Dory, from Azulasia. Please open up!"

She started knocking more frantically. "It's very cold and windy out here!"

At that moment the manta ray taxi had stopped at a red light near the billboard.

Nemo looked up at Dory and the billboard wide-eyed.

"Daddy," He asked. "why is there a princess on the castle billboard?"

"It's an advertisement," Marlin explained without looking up. "It's a mannequin."

"No, she's really there!" Nemo insisted as he started to get out on the street side.

"No, she's not," Marlin looked up at Nemo just as he got out. "What are you doing?" He panicked. He quickly threw some bills at the driver and sped out on the safe side of the taxi after Nemo. "Nemo, get back here! Stop!"

Nemo had reached the other side safely, and was now standing under the billboard.

"Princess!" He called up to her.

Marlin reached him and grabbed Nemo by the shoulders. "Don't you EVER do that again!" He said in worried anger.

"But Dad, look!" Nemo pointed up to the billboard.

Marlin finally obliged and looked.

"Is anyone there?" Dory was calling. "Do you know Gurgle?"

Nemo was right-it was a real person. And obviously, an extremely intoxicated one.

"Stay here," Marlin ordered Nemo as he walked closer to the billboard.

"Hey, lady!" He called up to her.

Dory turned and smiled down at the two. "Oh, hello!" Dory said, a little wearily. "I was wondering if maybe you-"

But suddenly a very strong current started to blow, pulling Dory in every direction. "Oh my!" She screamed.

"Hang on!" Marlin yelled up to her.

The current was pushing her towards one of the coral buildings. She screamed-she was going to slam right into it!

"Grab her, Daddy!" Nemo yelled.

Marlin darted towards Dory, grabbed her fin, and started pulling her out of the current.

Suddenly, though, it let up, and the two went tumbling to the ground, hitting reef floor hard.

"Ow," Marlin rubbed his head. "You ok?" He said to Dory.

"Yes, I'm fine," Dory said as she straightened out her dress.

"Are you ok?" Nemo repeated Marlin's question.

"Oh, I'm fine," Dory reassured Nemo.

"What were you doing up there?" Nemo asked incredulously, looking up at the billboard.

"Well, I was looking for some help," Dory explained. "You see, I've been wandering very far and long tonight, and I'm afraid nobody's been very nice to me."

Marlin chuckled a little, still rubbing his head. "Yeah, well, welcome to the Great Barrier Reef."

Dory was touched. "Thank you," She smiled.

Marlin gave her a look. "Right," He nodded slowly. "Ok, you're sure you're alright?"

"Oh, yes," Dory nodded.

"You need me to call somebody for you?" Marlin asked.

Dory looked around, but didn't see anyone. "Oh, I don't think they'd hear you from here," She explained to Marlin.

"Wh...huh?" Marlin was utterly confused.

* * *

"Nemo, show her the way, please," Marlin sighed as they went up the stairs. It was decided that Dory would be taken to the apartment until he figured out what to do with her.

Nemo barely heard him, though-he was fully engrossed in Dory's story.

"And then," She continued. "the old hag told me to look into the well and wish for my heart's desire, but I must have looked very far, because I fell. Down, down, down. And then I climbed out of this big round hole and got very lost, until I fell off the castle and now here I am! With you!" She smiled as she finished her story.

"Is this a big habit of yours? Falling off of stuff?" Marlin turned to her.

"Well, usually someone catches me," Dory said, then quickly reassured him. "But not to worry! I'm certain Gurgle is already searching for me! No doubt by morning he'll come and rescue me from this strange land, take me home...and the two of us can share in true love's kiss," She sighed dreamily.

"True love's kiss," Marlin repeated skeptically.

"It's the most powerful thing in the world," Dory stated matter-of-factly.

"Right," Marlin shook his head. Man, this lady was a headcase.

"Now, if only I could find a place to rest my head for the night," Dory contemplated.

"What kind of place?" Marlin asked, hoping she wasn't asking to stay with them.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe a nearby kelp meadow...or a hollow coral!" She said happily.

"A hollow coral?" Marlin raised an eyebrow.

"Or a house full of dwarf-fish, I hear they're very hospitable," Dory suggested.

They had reached their apartment by now.

"All I can let you do is come in for a minute," Marlin said as he opened the door. "Y'know, change clothes, use the phone if you need to."

"Oh, that's very kind of you," Dory smiled.

She tried to get in, but her dress wouldn't let her.

"What is with this dress of yours?" Marlin asked as he and Nemo tried to help get her inside.

"Oh, do you like it?" Dory chirped.

"No, it's just-" But Marlin was quickly interrupted.

"I gathered the fabric from the petals of water lilies," She explained. "and spun some kelp into thread on my spinning wheel."

"You made this all by yourself?" Nemo stopped pushing for a moment to marvel at the dress.

"Well, my animal friends did help with the sewing," Dory admitted.

"They're good," Nemo nodded slowly.

Dory's big hoop skirt suddenly slid through the door.

"Oh!" Dory fell flat on her face.

"Whoa!" Marlin and Nemo both exclaimed at the same time as they fell right along with her.

Marlin brushed himself off, annoyed. "Why don't we see about getting you a ray?" He couldn't wait to get this crazy woman out of his life.

He walked into his office room to put his briefcase and papers away.

"Couldn't she stay here, Daddy?" Nemo pleaded.

"No. That's a big no," Marlin said curtly.

Nemo sighed and went to find Dory. She was reclining on the sponge-couch.

"Are you really a princess?" Nemo asked her.

Dory smiled dreamily. "Not yet. But-" She yawned. "I will be...soon." With that she nodded off.

Nemo went back over to his dad.

"Wow, Dad, she's really sleepy," He commented.

Marlin's head shot up from organizing his papers. "Oh, no. That's not acceptable. No." He made his way over to the couch.

Nemo blocked his way. "You're not really gonna make her go, are you, Daddy?"

"I want you to go to bed," Marlin said simply.

"But I think she might be a real princess!" Nemo pleaded.

Marlin put his hands on Nemo's shoulders. "Nemo, just because she has a funny dress on doesn't make her a princess," He explained. "She is a seriously confused woman who has fallen into our laps."

"So we're not gonna let her stay?" Nemo asked sadly.

"No," Marlin shook his head, pretending to be just as sad. He gave Nemo a hug. "Now put your pajamas on and go to sleep, okay?"

Nemo nodded and trudged off to bed.

Marlin grabbed his shellphone and went into the living room, where he got the best reception. He dialed the number for the manta-ray service.

"Hi, I need a ray at 113th and Andrew, please," He said when they picked up.

"Hold, please," The operator replied.

"Thank you," Marlin turned toward the couch and spotted Dory.

Amazingly, she had found a way to arrange her dress so she could lie down. She was lying on her side, both fins under her cheek. She was fast asleep, but had a serene smile on her face.

"Hello, sir. Destination, please?" He heard the phone squawk.

She looked so peaceful. He didn't have the heart to wake her up.

"Sir?" The man asked.

With a sigh, Marlin closed his phone.

'Well, what's one night? I'll bring her home in the morning.'

He went into Nemo's room and tapped him. He groaned and stirred.

"Nemo, I need you to sleep in my room tonight."

"Nnn-what? Why?" Nemo asked groggily.

"Just come on," Marlin urged.

'I get the feeling I'm going to regret this,' Marlin groaned in his head.

**Will he regret this? You'll have to wait till the next chapter to find out!**

**Oh, can anyone get the two Pixar references in the address Marlin gives on the phone? I'll give you a coooooookieeeeeeeeeeee! ^_^  
**

** Reviews are my friends!**


	6. Happy Working Song

**Hey, I'm back! Okay, there's something I have to clear up right now: I never, ever intended this to just be a word-for-word rehashing of ****Enchanted****. The main reason I didn't change the dialogue much was because up till now, there was a TON of exposition that needed to happen, and for it to happen correctly, I couldn't really change the dialogue around. There is a plot point about Dory's speech and one aspect of her forgetfulness that I cannot bring up right now, because it'd spoil my fun surprises, but rest assured they will be covered in later chapters. But if that's why, up till now, Dory hasn't seemed forgetful or doesn't talk like she normally does, know that there's a reason for it, and all will eventually be revealed.**

**Phew! Now that that's outta the way, there's a few more things I have to say. First, fish wear clothes on a normal basis. Not realistic, you say? Fish also don't talk. *OH SNAP!* But they don't wear socks or shoes. Dory's gonna mention socks in the song, though, only because I can't think of another **_**appropriate**_** word that rhymes with box.**

***clears throat* Anyway, two: I'm not a mold expert, so IDK if mildew happens underwater. For my purposes, it does. I can bend science, because I am the almighty author! *points finger up at the sky dramatically and a lightning bolt shoots from it* **

**Finally, blowfish are the dogs of the fish world. That's the explanation for the not-being-able-to-talk thing. Crappy, I know.**

**So, now I'm paranoid about the dialogue thing. *bites fingernails* Aye-yai-yai! Well, I hope it satisfies y'all. Try to enjoy?**

**

* * *

**"Fear not, Dory, I will rescue you!" Gurgle announced confidently as he fell down the well and through the abyss.

"Yeah, but who's gonna rescue me?" Bloat shrieked as he too fell down the well.

* * *

"Alright, guys, let's cover this up."

The fat, grey flounders were dragging a heavy rock over the opening of a tube sponge.

Suddenly, though, Gurgle flew out of the sponge, Bloat beside him.

"Whoa!" One of the flounders almost fell over.

"Hey, buddy, you ain't-" Another started.

"Silence!" Gurgle held up a fin in royal command.

"Guys, I got this," The biggest flounder assured them. He stepped forward.

"Your name, peasant, quickly!" Gurgle demanded.

"Arty," The flounder sized this guy up.

Gurgle glared. "Are you in league with the wicked old hagfish who sent my poor Dory to this foul place...Arty?"

Arty raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Gurgle turned to Bloat. "Is this man party to this evil plot, blowfish?"

Bloat tried to say no, this was just a random guy.

But all that came out were blurbles.

Bloat tried again. And again.

He finally realized with horror that he had lost his voice.

'_What kinda place IS this?_'

Bloat tried desperately to communicate his dilemma to Gurgle.

Gurgle shook his head sadly. "Poor blowfish. Speechless in my presence."

Bloat slapped a fin to his face. This was gonna be a long day.

Gurgle turned back to Arty. "What say you, sir? Don't try my patience."

"What are you talkin' about?" Arty asked, getting frustrated.

Gurgle put his sword to the flounder's neck. "I seek a beautiful girl," Gurgle explained. "My other half, my one coquette. The answer to my love's duet."

"I-I'd like to find one o' them too, y'know?" Arty stuttered in fear.

"Then keep a wary eye out, Arty."

Gurgle finally released the sword from the flounder's neck. "Come along, Bloat!"

"Are you OK?" Arty's friends asked as Gurgle swam confidently away.

* * *

Dory yawned and stretched as she woke up.

She almost screamed when she opened her eyes and saw the apartment.

"Omigosh! What happened? Where am I? Where's Gurgle?" Dory asked herself aloud as she shot up off the couch.

It took a minute for her to untangle herself from her dress after her frantic lookaround.

She suddenly remembered what happened that night.

'_Oh, right. Those two...uh, fish,_' She thought, not being able to remember anything else about them. '_But that's okay-Gurgle will be here soon._'

Dory took a good look around the apartment.

Trash was everywhere-old food and drink containers, plates, dirty clothes-all of it was strewn about.

"Oh, my," Dory tsked. "This just won't do. I must clean this."

She suddenly remembered. Of course! Her animal friends! Surely there were animals here. They'd help her!

Dory stick her head out the window into the loud city. She hoped her voice would carry far enough.

"_aaaAAAaaaAAAah  
aaaAAAaaaAAAah  
aaaAAAaaaAAAAAAAH!_"

For a moment, nothing.

Then, she screamed and hit the deck as millions of tiny plankton flew into the room.

Tons of shrimp scuttled in from all the crevices in the apartment, with a rather snooty-looking one leading the way.

Finally, grey flying fish came rushing inside.

One hit the window, and Dory gasped.

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?" She asked

The flying fish shook it off and nodded.

"Oh, okay," Dory giggled.

She looked around at the other, unfamiliar fish.

"Hello," She greeted then awkwardly.

They didn't have much of a response, except that two of the shrimp were arguing in an indiscernible language, and the leader was trying to break them up.

"Well.." Always one to look on the bright side, Dory smiled. "It's always nice to make new friends."

She assumed a serious face and clapped her hands briskly. "Alright, everyone! Let's tidy things up!"

Dory sang and guided her friends along as she started to sing.

"_Come, my little friends  
As we all sing a happy little working song  
Merry little voices clear and strong  
Come and roll your sleeves up, so to speak  
And pitch in_"

She grabbed a dusty kelp broom and began to sweep as the flying fish picked up various bits of trash.

"_Cleaning crud up in the kitchen  
As we sing along!_"

Dory moved on to the bathroom where the shrimp and plankton were already cleaning.

"_Trill a cheery tune in the tub  
As we scrub a stubborn mildew stain_"

She gratefully took the dirtball a shrimp offered her.

"_Pluck a dirtball from the shower drain  
To the gay refrain  
Of a happy working song!_"

Dory giggled as the shrimp kissed her cheek, then proceeded to scrub the floor with a sponge.

"_We'll keep singing without fail  
Otherwise we'd spoil it!_"

She looked at the plankton doing their job-

"_Cleaning out the garbage pail_"

-then at the shrimp.

"_And scrubbing up the toilet!_"

One of the shrimp fell in.

"Ooh!" Dory made to help him out, but the other two by the toilet signaled that he was ok. She sighed in relief and continued to sing.

"_How we all enjoy letting loose  
With a little "La-dah-dum-dum-dum!"  
While we're emptying the vacu-um_"

She perched the plankton in the vacuum on her finger and sang as they hummed along.

"_It's such fun to hum  
A happy working song  
Hmmm-mmm  
A happy working sooong!_"

Dory swam out to the balcony that overlooked the dull city.

"_Oh, how strange a place to be  
Till Gurgle comes for me  
My heart is sighing."_

Dory allowed herself a moment to brood, but quickly switched to her glass-half-full mentality._  
_

_"Still, as long as I am here  
I guess a new experience  
Could be worth trying-_"

Suddenly suspicious, she turned to the flying fish, who were lying down on the kitchen counter, dishes still in front of them.

"Hey!" She called. "Keep drying!"

They sprang to attention and did as they were told.

She continued singing.

"_You can do a lot when you've got  
Such a happy working tune to hum  
While you're sponging up the soapy scum_"

The shrimps waved as they continued to clean the kitchen.

"_We adore each filthy chore  
That we determine  
So friends, even though you're vermin  
We're a happy working throng_"

The flying fish crashed into the cabinet loudly.

Nemo shot bolt up at the sound. Curious, he got out of bed carefully, ensuring he didn't wake Marlin.

"_Singing as we fetch the detergent box  
For the smelly shirts and the stinky socks_"

Nemo heard little feet and movements, as well as Dory singing but didn't see anyone.

Suddenly, something landed on his head. He plucked it off his head, and saw that it was one of Marlin's ties. He decided to follow Dory's voice for some answers.

"_Sing along  
If you can not sing then hum along_"

"Whoa..." Nemo gasped.

Dory was dancing in a circle as she sang.

Plankton were circling around her, as were shrimp.

Some grey flying fish were finishing up cleaning the apartment.

"Cool," Nemo smiled.

"_As we're finishing our happy working song!_" Dory finished happily as a flying fish put a water lily on the coffee table.

She sighed and sat on the couch. "Wasn't this fun?" She asked her friends excitedly.

They nodded in agreement.

Dory failed to notice one flying fish eat a few of the plankton.

'_She __is__ a real princess!_' Nemo rushed to the bedroom-Dad had to see this.

"Dad!" Nemo yelled. "Dad, wake up, wake up!"

"Unh...what?" Marlin asked groggily.

"Get up, you have to come see!" Nemo pulled his dad's fin.

"What, what is it?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eye with his free fin.

"I can't tell you, you have to see!" Nemo pulled harder.

"Are you OK?" Marlin asked, suddenly awake.

"Yes, Dad, I'm fine," Nemo sighed, frustrated. "Come **_on_**!"

Reluctantly, Marlin got out of bed and let Nemo drag him to the living room.

For a millisecond, he didn't see anything.

But then he spotted the millions of vermin flitting and swimming everywhere.

"Oh my go-Out! Out!" Marlin frantically tried to shoo them out. "Get out of here! Now!"

"Dad, what do I do with them?" Nemo had two shrimp caught by their tails.

"Get them out!" Marlin shouted over his shoulder as he practically shoved the flying fish out the window.

"Should I put them back?" Nemo asked, confused.

"No, don't put them _back_! Put them outside!" Marlin corrected.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Nemo, open the door!"

He nodded, running to the door and throwing it open.

The animals took their cue and ran out the door, Marlin guiding them.

When the last plankton had exited, Marlin slammed the door, leaning against it as he sighed in relief. He turned to Nemo. "How in the world did they all get in here?"

Nemo was about to answer when Marlin held up a fin. He listened carefully.

Sure enough, he heard her singing coming from the bathroom.

'_Of course. I knew I'd regret letting her stay the night_.'

"Stay here." Marlin made his way to the bathroom.

"But Dad-!" Nemo knew he was probably going to kick her out, and he wanted her to stay-he'd never met a real princess before.

"Stay. Here." Marlin ordered, and Nemo backed down.

Taking a deep breath, Marlin walked to the bathroom. He was going to lay it down. He didn't care how crazy this woman was-she couldn't stay here anymore.

Marlin knocked on the door. "Uh, m'am? Can I, um..."

"Oh, come in!" He heard her chirp from inside.

He sighed and opened the door.

"Whoa!" Marlin quickly averted his eyes-Dory was just getting out of the shower.

Thankfully, some flying fish held up a big piece of kelp, which she wrapped around herself. "Oh, thank you, that's so thoughtful!" She gushed to the fish, who looked pleased with themselves.

Seeing that it was safe, Marlin reluctantly turned back to Dory.

"Hello, um...oh, um...um…" She squinted in concentration.

"Marlin," He offered.

"Right! Of course!" She smiled. "I hope you had nice dreams."

"I think I'm still in one," Marlin muttered, putting a fin to his head.

"This," Dory indicated the coral tub and tube sponge shower. "is surely a magic object. Where does the water come from?"

This woman had never seen a SHOWER before? He didn't want to think about what that meant. "The pipes. They get it from the pipes." He answered quickly.

"Oh." Dory thought for a moment. "Then where do the pipes get it from?"

"Oh...uh..." Marlin struggled. "Y'know...wherever the...pipes...get it from."

"Oh," Dory nodded in understanding, before smiling broadly. "It is magical."

Marlin let out a frustrated sigh. This woman was absolutely hopeless. He couldn't take this much longer; he needed to get her out of his house-and his life-ASAP.

* * *

**I hope the dialogue was different enough-I tried! GAH! *hides under rock in shame* Tell me how much I suck in comments, 'kay?**


	7. Unhappy?

**Wow. I mean, wow. I wouldn't blame any of you if you'd given up on me at this point. I mean it's been...how long has it been? *checks* Holy mother of monkeys on unicycles, TEN MONTHS? God, guys, I really am sorry. Senior year was just so damn busy, I barely had time for anything. That's a stupid excuse, but there it is. But don't completely give up hope on me-I promised I'd finish this story, and I will, dangit! Now, on to some long-overdue reviewer response!**

**Butterfree: Oh, yeah, I totally see where you're comin' from. I'm always spastic about checking my stories for stuff like that. That's why I'm not uploading OTR 2 until I have the rough draft totally finished-I don't wanna write something, then find out it completely messes up the story later. Rambling, sorry. ^^; Thanks, I could use a little less to worry about. Hope you like this chapter too!**

**Registered2Comment: Hellz yeah for bein' right without research! *epic freeze-in-the-air high-five* Man, you know a lot about fish. Are you an ichthyologist? (Tee hee, I sound so smart) But how do you mean it acts like a dog? Does it chase its tail? That'd be hilarious to watch XD I hope you still like this chapter too!**

**Now then, let's finally continue our story!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

For a moment, Deb thought she had walked into the wrong apartment .Everything was so clean! She had never seen the tables not covered with plates and take-out containers.

Before she could ask, Nemo walked into the room.

"Hi, Nemo!" She chirped, but suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Nemo, why are you still in your pajamas? You have school today, silly!"

"I know that!" Nemo said defensively, then calmed down. "Things have just been...a little crazy this morning."

"Did you guys get a maid, by the way?" Deb asked.

"Not exactly," Nemo smirked.

Deb questioned this, but decided to ignore it. "Did your dad leave early for work?"

"No, he's here, he just-"

* * *

"Do you have any, uh..." Marlin cleared his throat awkwardly. "...clothes you can change into? Because I'm afraid I don't really-"

"Oh, not to worry! Everything is under control!"

With this, Dory threw her fins up enthusiastically. Unfortunately, she hadn't accounted for the small space.

Marlin was thrown off balance by this sudden movement and started to fall out the door.

"Oh, dear!" Dory rushed over to him.

Now it was Marlin who was flailing his fins wildly in an attempt to regain his balance. He accidentally grabbed Dory and sent her falling to the ground. Marlin followed suit, falling on top of her.

* * *

"Agh..." He winced.

"Oh, my..." Dory shook the fuzzies away from hitting her head.

Marlin made to get up-

"**MARLIN?**"

'_Oh, no. No, no, no, please don't let that be her._'

He slowly turned and was horrified, but not terribly surprised, to see Deb, her fins crossed with a menacing look in her eye.

Looking down at Dory, clad only in a towel, and him on top of her, he knew this was **not good**.

"Wait-!"

But Deb had turned sharply and was heading out the door.

"Deb, wait, this isn't-!"

He grabbed her before she got all the way out.

"What about Nemo? Remember, grown-up bonding time?" He spluttered desperately.

"What, so you can have some grown-up bonding time?" She spat at him, before casting a murderous glance at Dory.

Dory, who had gotten up by this point, didn't notice this and merely waved at Deb, her smile bright as the sun.

Deb looked back at Marlin. "I don't think so."

And with that, the door slammed shut, leaving Marlin a mixture of sad, hurt, and angry.

"Oh, she's lovely, Carson," Dory gushed.

That one comment briefly disposed of the sad and hurt parts.

He slowly turned towards Dory. "My name. Is **MARLIN**. And do you have **ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE?**"

Both Nemo and Dory shrank back from that.

"What did I-?" She began.

"**YOU** made me **FALL!** And now she thinks we...we..." Marlin stuttered.

Dory gasped loudly. "Kissed?" She said this as if it were the most horrible thing she could think of.

Marlin really didn't care to explain in front of his son. "Yeah, something like that." He put a fin to his forehead, wondering how he was going to fix this, and also reminding himself NEVER to listen to his conscience about strangers again.

Dory's fins flew to her mouth in horror. "Oh, dear...Wait a moment."

Dory swam into the bathroom for a moment. She emerged mere seconds later in a beautiful, summery seaweed dress.

"Now, what to do-"

"Wait-wait-wait!" Marlin shook his fins. "Where in the world did you get that dress from?" He knew she hadn't brought any bags with her.

"Oh, I made it!" Dory bounced into the living room.

"Made it? Out of what?" Marlin followed her.

He soon got his answer as he saw dress-shaped cutouts in his curtains.

Marlin just stayed there, motionless, staring at the curtains in pure shock.

Dory gauged his face. "You're unhappy," She said quietly, hoping it wasn't true.

"**YOU CUT UP MY CURTAINS?**" Marlin yelped.

"Oh, you are unhappy!" Dory moaned. "I'm so sorry, I-"

"No, no, I'm not _unhappy_, I'm angry!" Marlin corrected.

"An-gry?" Dory cocked her head.

"Yes, angry! It's an emotion, you ever heard of it?" Marlin scoffed.

"Well, I have heard of it, but I've never-" Dory started to explain.

"Ya know what, forget it, alright?" Marlin put a fin to his forehead in exhaustion. "I have bigger problems. Like Deb."

Dory gasped loudly, which made Marlin look up slightly. "You should sing to her!"

"Excuse me?" Marlin turned fully to her.

"You should put all of your feelings, your thoughts-all of the wonderful things you feel about her into a beautiful ballad!" Dory sang the last two words, then looked dreamily off into the distance.

"And then she'll know for sure."

Marlin blinked a few times, wondering where on earth this woman got her common sense from.

Dory noticed this. "What is it?"

"It's...I mean, it's like you escaped from a fairytale book or something," He shook his head.

"Is...that a bad thing?" Dory asked.

Marlin merely sighed.

Suddenly, he spotted something in the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw Nemo, fully dressed with his backpack on, waiting patiently.

It hit him with a jolt. "School! We're gonna be late!" He grabbed his keys and swam like lightning out the door.

"We'd better follow him, Paco!" Dory started to swim off, too.

"My name's Nemo!" He laughed.

"Oh, right, of course!" She chuckled as well as the two darted after the uptight clownfish.

* * *

**Alright, next chapter up faster than ten months, for sure! At this point, I don't trust even myself, so that's the best I can promise. **

**Sling pianos at me in reviews? Heh heh. ^^;**


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